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Laus Diodori episcopi

ENCOMIUM FOR DIODORE THE BISHOP, who preceded and praised me.

52.761 αʹ. This wise and noble teacher, having recently laid aside the infirmity of his

body, and having ascended this throne, began for me the proem of his discourse, addressing me as John the Baptist, and the voice of the Church, and the rod of Moses, and many other things besides these. And he for his part praised me then, and you cried out; but I, sitting far off, groaned bitterly. For he was praising me, showing his love for his child; you cried out, manifesting your brotherly love; but I groanedsic, being pressed by the weight of the praises. For the magnitude of encomiums is accustomed to bite the conscience no less than sins; and when someone, conscious of no good in himself, 52.762 hears others say many and great good things about him, contemplating the present reputation and the coming day, on which all things are naked and laid bare; and that the one judging then will judge not from the opinion of the many, but from the truth of the matters themselves (For he will not judge according to opinion, it says, nor reprove according to speech); thinking on all these things, I am pained by the praises and by the good opinion of the many, seeing the great distance between this and the future verdict. For now indeed we are hidden with certain masks, the opinions from the many; but on that day, with bare head, these masks having been removed, standing before the judgment seat, 52.763 we will not be able to gain any benefit for the verdict there from the reputation here, but for this very reason we will be punished more greatly, because even though we enjoyed many praises and much acclaim from the many, we have not become better even by this.

βʹ. Thinking on all these things, therefore, I groaned bitterly.sic Wherefore I also rose quickly today, so that before you who heard those things I might repudiate such an opinion. For indeed a crown, when it is larger than the head of the one being crowned, does not bind the temples, it does not sit upon the head; but being too loose in its size, it slips down over the eyes, becomes a necklace, and leaves the head uncrowned. This is precisely what we have suffered, as the crown of encomiums has appeared larger than the worth of our head. But nevertheless, though things were so, because of the affection present(f.abundant) in him, the father did not desist before placing it on us somehow. In this way, I suppose, kings also often act, and taking the diadem that fits them, they place it on the heads of their children; then when they see that the child's head is smaller than the crown, having been satisfied with this very act of simply and randomly placing it on, taking it back, then, they place it on themselves.

γʹ. Since, therefore, the father has also placed on us the crown that befits himself, and it was seen to be larger than our head, he would not choose to place it on himself; come then, let us, taking it from ourselves, place it again on the father's fitting head. For the name of John is with us, but the spirit is with him; and we received the title, but he has acquired the philosophy. For this reason he would be more just to inherit the title also than we; for a namesake is accustomed to be made not by the commonality of names, but by the kinship of deeds, even if the names differ. For Scripture is not accustomed to philosophize about these things in the same way as those who partake of the philosophy from without. For they, unless with the substance also the

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Laus Diodori episcopi

ΕΓΚΩΜΙΟΝ ΕΙΣ ∆ΙΟ∆ΩΡΟΝ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΝ τὸν προλαβόντα καὶ ἐγκωμιάσαντα.

52.761 αʹ. Ὁ σοφὸς οὗτος καὶ γενναῖος διδάσκαλος, πρώην τὴν ἀῤῥωστίαν τοῦ

σώματος ἀποθέμενος, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν θρόνον τοῦτον ἀναβὰς, ἐμοὶ τοῦ λόγου τῶν προοι μίων ἀπήρξατο, τὸν Βαπτιστὴν Ἰωάννην, καὶ φω νὴν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, καὶ ῥάβδον Μωσέως, καὶ ἕτερα πλείονα μετὰ τούτων προσειπών. Καὶ οὗτος μὲν ἐπῄνεσε τότε, ὑμεῖς δὲ ἀνεκράγετε· ἐγὼ δὲ πόῤῥω καθήμενος πικρὸν ἀνεστέναξα. Αὐτὸς γὰρ ἐπῄνει, τὴν φιλοτεκνίαν ἐπιδεικνύμενος, ὑμεῖς ἀνεκράγετε, τὴν φιλαδελφίαν ἐμφαίνοντες, ἐγὼ δὲ ἐστέναξονsic τῷ τῶν ἐπαίνων ὄγκῳ πιεζόμενος. Ἐγκωμίων γὰρ μέγεθος ἁμαρτημάτων οὐκ ἔλαττον δάκνειν εἴωθε τὸ συνειδός· καὶ ὅταν τις ἑαυτῷ μηδὲν συνειδὼς 52.762 ἀγαθὸν, πολλὰ καὶ μεγάλα ἀγαθὰ λεγόντων ἑτέρων ἀκούῃ περὶ αὑτοῦ, ἀναλογιζόμενος τὴν παροῦσαν ὑπόληψιν καὶ τὴν μέλλουσαν ἡμέραν, καθ' ἣν πάντα γυμνὰ καὶ τετραχηλισμένα· καὶ ὅτι ὁ τότε δικάζων, οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν πολλῶν ὑπονοίας, ἀλλ' αὐτῆς τῶν πραγμάτων κρινεῖ τῆς ἀληθείας (Οὐ γὰρ κατὰ τὴν δόξαν κρινεῖ, φησὶν, οὐδὲ κατὰ τὴν λαλιὰν ἐλέγξει)· ταῦτα πάντα ἐννοῶν, ὀδυνῶμαι τοῖς ἐπαίνοις καὶ τῇ χρηστῇ τῶν πολλῶν ὑπονοίᾳ, πολὺ τὸ μέσον ταύτης πρὸς τὴν μέλλουσαν ψῆφον ὁρῶν. Νῦν μὲν γὰρ προ σωπείοις τισὶ ταῖς παρὰ τῶν πολλῶν δόξαις κρυπτό μεθα· ἐν ἐκείνῃ δὲ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ, γυμνῇ τῇ κεφαλῇ, τῶν προσωπείων τούτων ἀφαιρεθέντων, πρὸ βήματος 52.763 ἑστῶτες, οὐδὲν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐντεῦθεν δόξης εἰς τὴν ἐκεῖ ψῆφον ὠφεληθῆναι δυνησόμεθα, ἀλλὰ δι' αὐτὸ τοῦτο κολασθησόμεθα μειζόνως, ὅτι καὶ πολλῶν ἐπαίνων καὶ πολλῆς εὐφημίας παρὰ τῶν πολλῶν ἀπολαύσαντες, οὐδὲ αὐτῷ τούτῳ γεγενήμεθα βελ τίους.

βʹ. Ταῦτ' οὖν ἅπαντα ἐννοῶν, πικρὸν ἐστέναξον sic ∆ιὸ καὶ ἀνέστην ταχέως σήμερον, ὥστε ἐφ' ὑμῶν τῶν ἐκεῖνα ἀκηκοότων τὴν τοιαύτην ἀποκρούσασθαι δόξαν. Καὶ γὰρ στέφανος ὅταν μείζων ᾖ τῆς τοῦ στε φανουμένου κεφαλῆς, οὐ περισφίγγει τοὺς κροτά φους, οὐκ ἐνιζάνει τῇ κεφαλῇ· ἀλλὰ χαυνότερος τῷ μεγέθει γινόμενος, διὰ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν καταβαίνων περιαυχένιος γίνεται, καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀφίησιν ἀστε φάνωτον. Ὃ δὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς πεπόνθαμεν, τοῦ στεφάνου τῶν ἐγκωμίων μείζονος τῆς ἡμετέρας φανέντος ἀξίας κεφαλῆς. Ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ τούτων οὕ τως ἐχόντων, διὰ τὴν παροῦσαν(f.περιοῦσαν) αὐτῷ φιλοστοργίαν, ὁ πατὴρ οὐκ ἀπέστη πρὶν αὐτὸν ὁπωσ δήποτε ἐπιθεῖναι ἡμῖν. Οὕτω που καὶ βασιλεῖς ποιοῦσι πολλάκις, καὶ τὸ αὐτοῖς ἁρμόζον διάδημα λαβόντες, ταῖς τῶν παιδίων ἐπιτιθέασι κεφαλαῖς· εἶτα ἐπειδὰν ἴδωσιν ἐλάττω τὴν παιδικὴν οὖσαν κο ρυφὴν τοῦ στεφάνου, αὐτῷ τούτῳ τῷ περιθεῖναι ἁπλῶς καὶ ὡς ἔτυχε πληροφορηθέντες, λαβόντες λοι πὸν ἑαυτοῖς περιτίθενται.

γʹ. Ἐπεὶ οὖν καὶ ὁ πατὴρ τὸν αὐτῷ πρέποντα στέφα νον ἡμῖν ἐπέθηκε, καὶ μείζων ὤφθη τῆς ἡμετέρας κορυφῆς, ἑαυτῷ οὐκ ἂν ἕλοιτο περιθεῖναι· φέρε δὴ αὐτὸν ἡμῶν ἀφελόμενοι, τῇ ἁρμοζούσῃ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμεῖς ἐπιθῶμεν κεφαλῇ πάλιν. Τοῦ γὰρ Ἰωάννου τὸ ὄνομα παρ' ἡμῖν, τὸ δὲ φρόνημα παρὰ τούτῳ· καὶ τὴν μὲν προσηγορίαν ἡμεῖς ἐδεξάμεθα, τὴν δὲ φιλο σοφίαν οὗτος ἐκτήσατο. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ τῆς προσηγο ρίας δίκαιος ἂν εἴη κληρονομῆσαι μᾶλλον ἡμῶν· συνώνυμον γὰρ οὐχ ἡ τῶν ὀνομάτων κοινωνία, ἀλλ' ἡ τῶν πραγμάτων συγγένεια ποιεῖν εἴωθε, κἂν τὰ ὀνόματα διαφέρῃ. Οὐ γὰρ ὥσπερ οἱ τῆς ἔξωθεν φιλο σοφίας μετέχοντες, οὕτω καὶ ἡ Γραφὴ περὶ τούτων φιλοσοφεῖν εἴωθεν. Ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γὰρ ἂν μὴ μετὰ τῆς οὐσίας καὶ ἡ